A dead or junk car in Georgetown

The junked-vehicle chapter

Section 8.28.010 begins with self-propulsion. From there, a vehicle turns junked by being a wreck, a parts donor or a castoff, or by staying dead past the clock: over 72 consecutive hours if it sits on a public street or lot, over 30 consecutive days at a home or other private site. The chapter reaches cars whose plate or registration sticker has run out or gone missing.

Section 8.28.030 draws the line at what people can see. If any piece of a junked car is visible from a road, a park or a right-of-way, in summer or winter, Georgetown treats it as a public nuisance in the code's eyes, and holding onto it is unlawful. Park it in a closed building where no one outside can spot it, and the chapter no longer applies. Stock on a licensed dealer's or junk yard's lot is also exempt.

Ten days, three choices

Notice comes from the Chief Code Enforcement Officer, and it sets a deadline: the tenth day after it is mailed. Copies go by certified mail or by hand to the registered owner, every lien holder, and whoever owns or lives at the property. Inside those ten days you can:

1. Remove the car yourself.
2. Ask for a hearing in writing to the Municipal Court judge. The judge treats the car as broken unless you prove it runs, and a guilty finding still leaves ten more days before the city takes it.
3. Give written permission for the officer to remove it.

Do none of them and the silence is treated as admitting the car is a nuisance; the officer may remove it. Breaking the chapter counts as a misdemeanor carrying a fine of as much as $200. On top of that, the court orders the nuisance gone within ten days. Each further day after that is another violation.

Streets, driveways and lots

• On a home lot, vehicles go on a driveway, an existing gravel driveway or an approved surface, not in the front or side yard.
• Washing, maintaining or repairing a vehicle on public property is off limits, except emergency repairs needed to move it under its own power or by tow.
• No vehicle may stay in a publicly owned or operated parking area more than 24 hours without permission from whoever owns or runs it.

A car parked against the city rules on displaying a car for sale, street repairs or overnight storage can be removed and impounded at the owner's expense.

For businesses, the development code is blunt: "Outdoor storage shall not include the storage of wrecked or inoperable vehicles."

Code Compliance is at 512-930-3606, with online complaints and askGTX as other routes. The police non-emergency line is 512-930-3510.

Title and plates

Williamson County's tax office sits inside the city, at 1848 Texas Trail, about 4 miles from the heart of town, to the southeast as the crow flies. Its number is (512) 943-1601. That is where a Texas title application is filed under Texas Department of Motor Vehicles rules.

Georgetown sellers need no notary. Fill in the sale date and mileage before you sign the title. Form 130-U gets your signature and the price, and both papers go to the buyer. The plates and sticker come off with you. Then, inside 30 days, report the sale to TxDMV with a Vehicle Transfer Notification, so the new owner's toll bills and parking fines are not mailed to you. If the title is missing, order a certified copy (Form VTR-34), and some older cars qualify for a no-title parts sale; see car not in your name if the title was never yours to begin with.

Around Georgetown

Round Rock is 10.0 miles away, Leander 11.7, Hutto 12.8 and Cedar Park 13.0, straight-line. The Texas page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Get an offer online or call (877) 421-6008. We ask what the car is, the miles on it, if it starts, and who the title belongs to. A driveway downtown, a storage lot or the repair shop holding it all work for pickup.